Obama Admin. Presses Judge To Allow Executive Amnesty By Monday

The Obama administration is calling on U.S. Federal Judge Andrew Hanen to reverse his prior decision and allow President Obama’s executive amnesty to go forward by Monday. If not, the administration says it will appeal.

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In a court filing Wednesday, Justice Department lawyers write that the government is finished responding to the briefs filed by the Plaintiffs — or the 26 states challenging Obama’s executive amnesty — and request that Hanen stay his temporary halt on the executive actions.

“Accordingly, Defendants respectfully request expedited consideration of their motion and a ruling as soon as possible. Absent a ruling by close of business on Monday, March 9, 2015, Defendants may seek relief from the Court of Appeals in order to protect their interests,” the filing reads.

Last month, Hanen temporarily blocked two of the largest aspects of President Obama’s November 20 executive amnesty, specifically the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), ruling in favor of the 26 states challenging the executive actions.

According to reports, DOJ lawyers pressed Hanen to stay the injunction last week, threatening to appeal if he did not respond within two days. Hanen provided the states a week to respond to the government’s demand.

“[A]s the court has already pointed out, once President Obama initiates this action, it will be practically impossible to undo,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in response Tuesday. “The court properly halted the Obama Administration’s unlawful action, and the defendants’ request for a stay should be denied.”

The government’s demand comes a day after it admitted in another court filing that it jumped the gun by issuing 100,000 three-year deferrals and work permits under expanded DACA. The program was not supposed to begin until February 18, however it began approving such applications on November 24 and only stopped when Hanen temporarily blocked the executive actions on February 16.